Positive vaccine news helped stocks rally to record levels
After a tumultuous week embroiled in confusion surrounding the U.S. Presidential Election, which ultimately concluded with former Vice President Joe Biden being named president elect, stocks rallied to record levels today. The main driver of today's positive price action was optimistic trial data from drugmakers Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX), which showed a 90% efficacy rate in its COVID-19 vaccine. The Dow soared 834 points today, notching a new record-high close, and earlier traded as much as 1,600 points above fair market value. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 also reached a record, while the Nasdaq Composite underperformed slightly as "stay-at-home" stocks like Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon.com (AMZN) struggled.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- 2 pharma giants surged on stellar vaccine news.
- Vaccine news also helped the travel sector, especially Delta stock.
- Plus, plenty of reasons for Party City to rage; why D.R. Horton is attracting investors; and more on FFIV's investment buzz.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 29,157.97) rose 834.6 points, or 3%, for the day. American Express (AXP) surged 21.4% to lead the list of Dow winners today. Meanwhile, Home Depot (HD) paced the list of losers with a 5% drop
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,550.50) added 41.1 points, or 1.2%, for the day. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 11,713.78) fell 181.5 points, or 1.5% for the day.
Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 25.75) lost 0.9 point, or 3.6% for the day.
- With U.S. President-elect Joe Biden slated to take office in January, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief said he's looking forward to working with the administration. (Reuters)
- The coronavirus pandemic is still at the forefront of investors' minds, but additional stimulus is still a ways away.(CNBC)
- A third-quarter beat is enough for Party City to celebrate.
- One home construction stock worth paying attention to.
- New investment buzz is put the spotlight on F5 Networks stock.
Oil Marks Multi-Month High on Vaccine News
The recent COVID-19 vaccine news is impacting oil as well. Prices have surged in what became crude's biggest daily gain in over six months, with December-dated crude rising $3.15, or 8.5%, to $40.29 a barrel.
Gold, meanwhile, plunged, as investors dumped bullion in favor of riskier commodities, on the aforementioned vaccine news. As a result, December gold fell $97.30, or 5%, to settle at $1,854.40 an ounce for the day.